Chapter 17:

Here Be Dragons

Pansy

Bombarda: Rarely fatal if medical aid is rendered quickly, as such this spell is a favorite among duelists the world over as a shield breaker…recommended age of use thirteen. Though power levels vary.

Hermione would be able to use this, it would be the only spell she used for a while after but if she used it to drop a shield then either I or Alex could easily finish them. I nodded, I would show it to Hermione tomorrow at practice. It should prove useful against the crabs.

"How did you land potter?" Anticipation-envy-greed-jealousy, and honest curiosity.

"Hello Greengrass, how are you today?" I asked, never looking up from my book.

Daphne sniffed. "It's not like you're a catch, your family can barely scrape together more money than the Weasley's," she clutched her chest dramatically. "Oh I'm sorry did I say family? There's only two Parkinson's left right?" glee-anticipation.

"Is that the best you have Greengrass, attacking my family? How," I made a show of looking for the right word. "Sad." Was she really trying this now? Hadn't I already smacked her down enough to get some peace? I looked around the room, everyone was carefully not looking at us. Curious.

Daphne blinked. "Sad?" Surprise-uncertainty. Had she really expected me to just take it? I took another look around the room. Her allies were here, I wouldn't expect her to try anything without them but they were far from the only ones here. Most of the House was here, failure now would cause her standing to drop considerably. Risky, much riskier than I thought Daphne would be willing to chance.

Unless, oh my, it's like that?

I smiled at her beatifically and nodded. "Yes, small. I mean while the Parkinson fortune is obviously no match for the Greengrass's it is more than enough for me and several generations after me to lay back and relax. So that's certainly nothing to be ashamed of." I tapped my bottom lip. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't gone after my lack of family members, a fate many of our friends," I indicated the room at large, "share. The last war was hard on all of us."

Daphne opened her mouth to retort, but I kept going savoring the faint stirrings of panic.

"As for how I landed Potter, well she got in a kerfuffle with a mountain troll, you remember, the one she executed with a single spell?" Triumph, odd why would she feel that. I was about to continue when Daphne interrupted.

"And you rushed out to save her," She smirked, "like a Gryffindor." Really was that the best she could come up with? Sad really.

My smile turned condescending. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to insure she and her friend made it out of the woods safely." I blinked innocently for effect.

She smiled, "So you made sure to save a mudblood?" Is that what she was building towards? If so it was already backfiring on her, as highly as Slytherin valued blood purity, it was still considered unbecoming to speak openly on the matter. More than that the minority of half-bloods and muggle-borns would take offence. She was making enemies and she didn't even realize it, r didn't care which was worse.

"Oh my yes, I saved her friend thereby putting Granger in my debt and leaving Potter happily disposed towards me. You're right how very Gryffindor of me." Let them make of that what they will.

I wasn't happy about having to imply that, but with all the time I had been putting in with Alex and Hermione my standing in Slytherin had slipped and this would deal with it. For now at least, if I really wanted to maintain my position I would have to spend more time in the snake pit. Fun.

I stood and made my way out of the common room. I started making my way to the library when I felt it.

Anger-sadness-loss. It felt like Draco.

I followed the emotions to an abandoned class room and slowly opened the door. Cobwebs covered almost every available surface, the walls the celling and the desks themselves. Sitting near the front of the room Draco slumped on the table, his shoulders shook slightly. I closed the door.

"Draco?" I asked as I sat next to him

He started slightly before lifting his head to look at me. Giving me a look at his blood shot and puffy eyes and runny nose. "Pansy?"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you care? You've got Potter now don't you?" There was an ugly twist to his features. Jealousy-pain-anger.

"Draco, just because I have new friends doesn't mean were not Allies." I put emphasis on the last word, he had to remember what I meant.

Draco blinked. "Allies?" Confusion. Come on Draco.

I nodded. "Remember, we were maybe six at the time and we decided that we were going to take Slytherin together?"

"Allies," He shook his head, "right." Recognition-fond remembrance. There we go.

"Do you remember the oath we came up with?" I asked.

"Contacts, that's who we use to win. Allies, we use…"

He trailed off and I picked it up. "…Blackmail, that's what we use to win. Allies use…"

"…Money, it's what we need to win…"

"Allies, together we win."

We both started laughing.

"That was horrible." Draco said, wiping at his eyes.

"We were six, besides I quite liked it." I replied. "And you Mom liked it."

"Like may be pushing it."

I remembered the face she made, "You may be right." Mrs. Malfoy's had looked as if she had bitten into a particularly sour fruit. "Still she clapped, which is more than your father did." He had walked out mid performance.

Draco flinched.

"Draco, really I want to know, what's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed and looked away. "Father has, he's assumed full Headship."

Oh. "Draco I'm so sorry." I pulled him into a hug. To assume full Headship of a House the last Head had to have died. Which meant that Draco's Grandfather was dead. I had never really seen him, the old Malfoy Head had long been sick and spent much of his time in his room. To be honest during the time I spent over at the Malfoys I actively avoided seeing him. He reminded me to much of Father.

"I should be happy. Father is." Draco said, his voice muffled by sadness. "But I…"

"He was family, it's completely normal to miss him." I tried to reassure him.

"He was only a hundred, he should have had centuries left." His tears were soaking my shoulder.

"Shhh, it will be ok. I promise."

After a while he pulled back. "Thank you."

"Happy to help." I said.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" He asked. Nervous-embarrassment.

"Of course not, were Allies remember?"

He nodded smiling, "Allies."

888

Alex

After Pansy curb-stomped the golems she eased the schedule a bit. Only a little, but enough that Hermione and I suddenly had energy again. After the pace we had been following the cut back seemed a minor miracle.

Why she eased the schedule I don't know, maybe it was because assignments started piling up in preparation of the End of Year Exams or maybe it had to do with the weird looks the teaches were giving us. They knew we were up to something but since we didn't let our work suffer they left us to our own devices.

Personally I think it was because she decided we would actually take in more instruction if we weren't about to drop all the time. Hermione and I were so happy we actually wept tears of joy, well I did Hermione just held me as I cried and made sympathetic noises. Pansy rolled her eyes in disgust at our antics, but I saw a smile tugging at her lips.

It was a Saturday, which meant that aside from study group with the other First Year Ravens I was completely free and, after nearly a month of no attempts on my life, I was finally able to go out alone. Hermione was in the library, the regular one not ours, preparing for the study group later and Pansy was politicking with the Slytherins.

So it was, with a song in my heart, that I made my way to Hagrid's hut. The hut looked like something out of a fairy tale, a thatch roof, old world wood work and a chimney billowing smoke. Then you saw the Forbidden Forest, looming ominously behind it, and realized the fairy tale was something closer to the Brothers Grim, than anything Disney ever produced.

I knocked on the huts door and hopped to the side. I was still nearly bowled over from the heat emanating from inside the hut. Fang, Hagrid's boar hound, shot out the door and kept going.

"Shut the door will ya?" Hagrid said, from his seat near his roaring fire place. "Can't let all the heat out, now can I?"

I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me, and was immediately drenched in sweat. "I know it's still cold out, but isn't this a little overboard?"

"It's not for me, it's for the little one there." He indicated the fire, before realizing what he said. "Er, I mean…I get cold?" He gave me a worried look.

In spite of the heat my blood froze, because sitting in the fire was a large egg. "H-Hagrid is that a dragon egg?" My voice only cracked a little, a fact I was quite proud of.

Hagrid hesitated a moment before deciding he wasn't going to convince me otherwise, and nodded. "Aye that it is." He smiled hugely. "She's a beauty isn't she?"

I dropped bonelessly into a nearby chair.

There were two types of dragons, Dragons and lesser dragons. Dragons were what gods wanted to be when they grew up. They were Powerful with a capital P, they were not to be trifled with under any circumstances.

Low class dragons were the servants of their more powerful cousins. While more like animals than their cousins, they were still forces to be reckoned with. It took a team of trained professionals to deal with one of them. More than anything what made them dangerous was that they served Dragons, and Dragons didn't like their things being messed with.

Having possession of a dragon egg wasn't just illegal, it was a death sentence. If the Ministry found out about this they would kill Hagrid to avoid angering whichever Dragon this egg belonged to. We had to get rid of it.

I dragged my horrified gaze from the fire to Hagrid. "Hagrid please tell me you know how," Stupid, idiotic, suicidal, "illegal this is?"

"Aye, but they're not going to, I mean it's not like their on the lookout for dragons. Now are they?" Hagrid said as he went back to tending the fire.

"You might be able to keep it from being discovered for a few weeks before someone who will tell the ministry finds out. But they will find out." I tried to reason with him. "It's only a matter of time."

"Aw, you worry too much." Hagrid dismissed. "It'll work out, you'll see."

I saw the determined set of his features and slumped. Right, no intelligent life there. I sighed before asking for some tea. I wouldn't be able to convince him easily, but I would convince him. It'd just take time. In the mean time I had to find out if he got it in exchange for information on Fluffy the Cerberus.

"So how'd you get it?" I asked.

"Oh that's a story, that is." Hagrid said. "I was in Diagon, running errands you see, and I had just popped into the Caldron for lunch and this lass comes over and asks me if she can sit with me. With me." He chuckled. "Can you believe it?"

Lass? A women gave it to him? "Was she pretty?" A normal eleven year old would ask that right?

"Oh, aye." He rubbed his beard. "Well, I think she was, she sounded pretty but she was wearing this cloak, so I couldn't see how she looked."

Quirrell in disguise? "Sounds romantic?" I tried.

Hagrid laughed. "Oh nothing like that, she said she was an animal breeder. An' that she specialized in reptiles but the Ministry was shutting them down and destroying all her work and sizing the little beasties. She said 'I can't just let them take them but I remember you always wanted a dragon. So could you please take her for me?' Now how could I refuse that?"

"She knew you?" I asked. Tom Riddle did go to school with Hagrid, easy enough to pick someone from their time there and impersonate them.

"Aye, we went to Hogwarts together, lest till I got kicked out." Hagrid replied uncomfortably.

"Really? What's her name?" I could look it up later, see if this person actually existed.

Hagrid started to reply but stopped, a confused look crossing his face "I know she told me. What was it?" Had someone tampered with his memory? Hagrid slapped his knee. "Mary Haggelthorn, that's it. I knew I'd remember." Or maybe just bad a memory.

"Did she tell you who she worked for?" I asked.

"You know, I don't think she did." Hagrid mused. "Aw what's it matter anyway? I got the egg and she got one over on the Ministry, we all got what we wanted." Hagrid looked disinclined to continue this particular line of conversation.

Right, change the subject. "So did you and this pretty girl talk about anything else?" I asked innocently, laughing slightly at Hagrid's blush.

"Now you never mind that," he stuttered. "And no, she had to leave pretty quickly after that. Said she was going to Paris and her portkey was leaving soon."

I blinked, nothing about Fluffy? Just what's going on here?

888

I made it to the library just in time to get treated to a lively debate on Quidditch. Terry Boot and Lisa Stroud

"Violence is a part of Quidditch, if people get hurt it's just a part of the game!" Lisa Stroud explained passionately.

"But it doesn't have to be!" Terry boot said. "Plenty of sports go out of their way to insure that the players are safe and they're still lots of fun!"

I sat down next to Hermione. "What prompted this?"

Hermione sighed. "Apparently the last Quidditch game ended with half of the Gryffindor players in the hospital wing."

Tarry apparently heard her and used decided to use it to support his argument. "Exactly! If even school matches get that violent then just haw bad are the leagues?" That seemed a little too violent to me, but then I didn't really keep up with Quidditch. So what did I know?

"Rally?" I asked. "Who were they playing?"

"Hufflepuff." Lisa answered, before turning towards Terry. "Your confusing violent for dangerous. Yes the players get hurt, but a few hours with a Med-Mage and they're completely fine."

I raised my brow, and leaned towards Hermione. "How long have they been at this?"

"Since they got here, so maybe half an hour?" Hermione said.

"Are we going to work or argue about Quidditch?" I asked them.

Terry replied. "We can argue until Padma and Anthony get here." Lisa nodded in agreement, and with that they started going at it again. I tuned them out.

"How was Hagrid?" Hermione asked as she looked over her notes.

I lowered my voice. "After we get done here lets head to the Room." A lot of books say that they could hear the uppercase in someone's voice, but it's harder than it seems to talk in uppercase when you're trying to go unheard.

Judging by Hermione's concerned look she got my meaning. "Is everything ok?"

I nodded. "For now, let's just focus on charms. I still have a bet to win."

Hermione huffed. "I will be winning that bet. Thank you very much."

888

I had explained the situation to the girls that night and they agreed to help me get Hagrid to see reason. They had both started researching any information they could dig up on dragons, Pansy had focused on the laws applying to them and Hermione on the dragons themselves.

So far the results were not promising, legally things were about what I had expected. Outside of very specific items Wand Crafters paid ridicules sums of money for, owning or trafficking in dragons, their organs, eggs or other such products was a death sentence. If the Ministry didn't get you, the Dragons would.

As far as keeping a dragon hidden that was also a no go. Even the smallest of dragons would reach the size of horse in a few weeks, at most. Going by how the egg was growing it would not be a small dragon. When I first saw the egg it was the size of an ostrich egg, now it completely filled Hagrid's fire place.

On top of that, once the dragon reached a size were it could reliably fly, it would seek out the nesting grounds of its kin. All the books agreed on that. That was, I believed, my best chance of convincing Hagrid he couldn't keep it.

I snuck out of the castle and made my way to Hagrid's hut. I was skipping History to get out here now, but it was last class of the day and Hagrid had sent me a note saying he was feeling ill during lunch. If I was ever going to convince him now was my best chance.

Before entering I cast the cooling charm on every article of clothing I wore. It was nearly freezing out here but I would need it one I was inside. I had learned it after I very nearly gave myself heatstroke during my first trip here last week.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in," a weak voice moaned from inside. I let myself in and frowned when I saw Hagrid curled on his bed. I sat the food I had brought on the table and went over to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Stomachs all topsy-turve and my heads pounding." Hagrid moaned, holding very still. He was flush and sweating bullets and every few seconds he would wince.

"I think the fire's finally got to you." I started casting cooling charms on him and his bed and even the wall right next to him. I passed him some water after making sure it was cool but not cold. "Better?"

"A little."

"I think you've got heatstroke. You just need to cool down and drink some cool water." I had gotten heat sickness before and it was horrible but easily treatable if you got to it soon enough. "You'll feel better before you know it."

"Mhmm." He took another small drink and handed it back to me before relaxing into the bed.

"You just rest I'll watch the egg." No response. I put the water back on the table and sighed. I was fairly sure it was just the heat getting to him but better to be sure. I cast a basic health charm on him and nodded when it showed me what I expected, exhausted, over heated and dehydrated. Nothing some cool air and rest would cure.

The heat must have finally gotten to him, he had cast some fire proofing charms and cooling charms but with the remnants of his wand being what it was, they didn't last long.

I settled myself at the table and started sensing.

Breath. Focus. Sense.

Hagrid's magic reminded me of mountains and forests, the smell of freshly fallen rain and the sure strength of the mountains. It was oddly diminished today, maybe his magic trying to heal him? Interesting but not why I had started sensing.

In the fireplace the dragon egg was almost intoxicating to my senses. The first thing that came to mind was Predator, as expected and there was the roaring fire and soring wind I had knew would be there, but it was more complex than that. There was also the chill of winter, though I could barely sense that, and earth as well, but again that wasn't it. There was something that I could only term Death in its magic as well but it was two sided. Death and Life, right now they seemed evenly matched as if it could go either way.

I frowned and came back to myself. That was a much clearer read than I usually got from the egg. Before today all I got from it was the fire, wind and earth. They were interesting, they had a deeper feeling to them than any other magic I had sensed but there wasn't any, I struggled for the right word before settling on, concepts before now.

Crack.

Oh that's not good.

"Hagrid! Wake up!" He moaned but didn't move. "The eggs hatching!"

"…put out the fire." He finally said, but when he tried to sit up he just started moaning again.

I grabbed the water jug on the table to dowse the flames, but when I went to throw the water on it the fire was gone. I put the jug back on the table.

"Ok, now what?"

"There's some big fire proof mitts by the door, once she hatches use them to pick her up. She'll still be hot I…" he groaned before forcing himself to continue. "There's a bowl next to the fire place…"

Crack.

"Ok and I use the bowl for?!"

"…there's a flask with her food in it pore it in the bowl." That seemed to be all the strength he could muster because he stopped trying to move or talk.

I filled the bowl, got the mitts and watched the egg hatch. The cracks started spreading from the first crack until the entire surface was covered in them.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Silence.

I stared at the egg, every inch of the thing was cracked but the noise had stopped and the egg had stopped shaking. Was it dead? Before I cold voice my concern there was a final ear bursting crack and the egg exploded sending the shell flying. One of the shards cut me across my cheek before I raised the mitts to block the flying shrapnel. The egg shards tore through the hut, smashing into things and cracking the windows.

"Blimy." Hagrid said after the storm stopped.

I lowered the mitts and stared dumbfounded at the dragon in the fireplace. It was a little over a foot tall at its shoulders and from its head to its tail it was nearly three feet. Its' scale was dark navy with red highlights and black claws. It was beautiful.

The effect was somewhat ruined when it screeched and launched itself at me. I raised the mitts to try and shield myself, but even with Pansy's training I was to slow. Before I could even get them half way to my face the dragon landed on me and curled itself around my throat.

One moment I'm raising my mitt covered hands to try and pull the dragon off me and the next I'm on the floor black spots dancing in my eyes. I gasped trying to bring in air that wouldn't come, I felt as if I had run a thousand miles. All the energy I'd come here with was gone, and I was rapidly losing what little energy was left.

The black spots in my eyes expanded filling nearly the entirety of my vision. My pulse, which had started pounding when the egg exploded, was slowing with every passing second.

Beat, beat, beat.

Distantly I heard Hagrid fall out of his bed.

Beat...beat...beat.

I felt Hagrid try and tug the dragon off me and felt the floor shake as he crashed to the floor next to me.

Beat.

I had to stop this, but all I could feel was the slowing of my heart. At this point I couldn't even feel my arms or legs and my head felt like it was filled with cotton. My vision had narrowed to pinpricks.

beat.

I gathered the last of my energy and tilted my head to look the dragon in the eyes. I had never tried to enter someone's mind before now, my studies in Occlumency were just starting and entering someone's was as advanced as it was dangerous. I did know the basics though, so with no training or experience to draw on, I pushed the last remnants of my magic through my eyes and tried to invade the dragons mind.